Student Contract

I ______, being of sound mind and body, do solemnly swear to study English for at least
15 minutes every day this week.

signed  __________  January 31, 2015

Joni Mitchell

Chelsea Morning

by Joni Mitchell  

Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning
And the first thing that I heard
Was a song outside my window
And the traffic wrote the words
It came ringing up like Christmas bells
And rapping up like pipes and drums

Oh, won't you stay
We'll put on the day
And we'll wear it 'till the night comes

Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning
And the first thing that I saw
Was the sun through yellow curtains
And a rainbow on the wall *
Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you
Crimson crystal beads to beckon

Oh, won't you stay
We'll put on the day
There's a sun show every second

Now the curtain opens on a portrait of today
And the streets are paved with passersby
And pigeons fly
And papers lie
Waiting to blow away

Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning
And the first thing that I knew
There was milk and toast and honey
And a bowl of oranges, too
And the sun poured in like butterscotch
And stuck to all my senses

Oh, won't you stay
We'll put on the day
And we'll talk in present tenses

When the curtain closes
And the rainbow runs away
I will bring you incense
Owls by night
By candlelight
By jewel-light
If only you will stay
Pretty baby, won't you
Wake up, it's a Chelsea morning

Cactus Tree

There's a man who's been out sailing
In a decade full of dreams
And he takes her to a schooner
And he treats her like a queen
Bearing beads from California
With their amber stones and green
He has called her from the harbor
He has kissed her with his freedom
He has heard her off to starboard
In the breaking and the breathing
Of the water weeds
While she was busy being free

There's a man who's climbed a mountain
And he's calling out her name
And he hopes her heart can hear
Three thousand miles he calls again
He can think her there beside him
He can miss her just the same
He has missed her in the forest
While he showed her all the flowers
And the branches sang the chorus
As he climbed the scaley towers
Of a forest tree
While she was somewhere being free

There's a man who's sent a letter
And he's waiting for reply
He has asked her of her travels
Since the day they said goodbye
He writes "Wish you were beside me
We can make it if we try"
He has seen her at the office
With her name on all his papers
Thru the sharing of the profits
He will find it hard to shake her
From his memory
And she's so busy being free

There's a lady in the city
And she thinks she loves them all
There's the one who's thinking of her
There's the one who sometimes calls
There's the one who writes her letters
With his facts and figures scrawl
She has brought them to her senses
They have laughed inside her laughter
Now she rallies her defenses
For she fears that one will ask her
For eternity
And she's so busy being free

There's a man who sends her medals
He is bleeding from the war
There's a jouster and a jester
And a man who owns a store
There's a drummer and a dreamer
And you know there may be more
She will love them when she sees them
They will lose her if they follow
And she only means to please them
And her heart is full and hollow
Like a cactus tree *
While she's so busy being free

My Old Man

My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues

He's my sunshine in the morning
He's my fireworks at the end of the day
He's the warmest chord I ever heard
Play that warm chord, play and stay baby
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues

But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide

Then he comes home
And he takes me in his loving arms
And he tells me all his troubles
And he tells me all my charms
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
No, my old man
Keeping away my blues

But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide

My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
No, my old man
Keeping away my lonesome blues

For Free

I slept last night in a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The wind rushed around in the dirty town
And the children let out from the schools
I was standing on a noisy corner
Waiting for the walking green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet for free

Now me I play for fortunes
And those velvet curtain calls
I've got a black limousine
And two gentlemen
Escorting me to the halls
And I play if you have the money
Or if you're a friend to me
But the one man band
By the quick lunch stand
He was playing real good for free

Nobody stopped to hear him
Though he played so sweet and high
They knew he had never
Been on their T.V.
So they passed his music by
I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on a harmony
I heard his refrain
As the signal changed
He was playing real good for free

California

Sitting in a park in Paris, France
Reading the news and it sure looks bad
They won't give peace a chance
That was just a dream some of us had
Still a lot of lands to see
But I wouldn't want to stay here
It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here
Oh but California

California I'm coming home
I'm going to see the folks I dig
I'll even kiss a Sunset pig
California I'm coming home

I met a redneck on a Grecian isle
Who did the goat dance very well
He gave me back my smile
But he kept my camera to sell
Oh the rogue the red red rogue
He cooked good omelettes and stews
And I might have stayed on with him there
But my heart cried out for you California

Oh California I'm coming home
Oh make me feel good rock 'n' roll band
I'm your biggest fan
California I'm coming home

Oh it gets so lonely
When you're walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
Just gives you the blues
Just gives you the blues
So I bought me a ticket
I caught a plane to Spain
Went to a party down a red dirt road
There were lots of pretty people there
Reading Rolling Stone reading Vogue
They said "How long can you hang around?"
I said a week maybe two
Just until my skin turns brown
Then I'm going home to California

California I'm coming home
Oh will you take me as I am
Strung out on another man
California I'm coming home

Oh it gets so lonely
When you're walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
More about the war
And the bloody changes
Oh will you take me as I am?
Will you take me as I am?
Will you?

Big Yellow Taxi

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel *, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum *
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT * now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Both Sides, Now

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Marcel and the Mona Lisa

Marcel is a French mouse, and a detective. He has lots of friends in Paris. One of them is Céline. She paints pictures and is very beautiful. Céline’s home is at the Louvre. The Louvre is a very big museum in Paris, France.

Marcel often goes there for dinner. One evening in May he arrives with some pink flowers. There is a guard at the door. “I don’t know him,” Marcel thinks. “He must be new.” Then he walks inside.

The two friends eat, drink and talk all evening. Céline shows Marcel her new paintings. They talk about their summer holiday in Los Angeles. They laugh, play jazz records and tell lots of stories. Then at 11 o’clock Marcel puts on his coat. “It’s late,” he says. “I must go home.” Two minutes later he leaves. “Good night,” says Céline. Then she closes her front door.

Marcel walks across the floor. He is very happy. Then he stops. The room is dark, but he can see something. What is it? A man? A man with a long knife? Yes! Suddenly Marcel’s mouth is very dry. He runs to the wall. Then, after five seconds he looks again. This time he can see the man’s face. “It’s that new guard,” he thinks. “And he’s...he’s stealing the Mona Lisa!” The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world.

Next to the thief there is a black bag. Two minutes later the Mona Lisa is inside it. The thief smiles and picks up the bag. But a second later he puts it down again. “Where are my car keys?” he says, and begins to look in all his pockets. “All right, this is it,” Marcel thinks. “It’s now or never.” He runs along the wall very fast, climbs up the tall, black bag, and jumps inside it.

At the bottom of the bag Marcel can see a face. The Mona Lisa’s face. She is smiling at him. “Now what?” he asks her. There is no answer, but at that moment the bag starts to move. Marcel can hear lots of noises: a car motor starts, traffic goes by, and a radio plays. Then the bag suddenly stops. Marcel climbs the painting and looks out. “A train station!”

Five minutes later the Louvre "guard" gets on a train. He sits next to a thin man in sunglasses and a white jacket. “Have you got it, Antoine?” the thin man asks. “Yes,” the guard answers. After that the train starts and there is a lot of noise. “Oh no! Now I can’t hear them,” Marcel thinks. But he can hear one or two words. “Italy”, for example, and “all those cats”.

“Cats!” Marcel looks at the Mona Lisa. His eyes are two big plates. “But cats kill mice,” he thinks. “They eat them. And where are we going in Italy? Rome? Milan? Naples?”

But at that moment Antoine puts the bag under the seat. “Now I really can’t hear,” Marcel thinks.

Then he goes to sleep and has a very bad dream. He has a nightmare.

Early next morning the sun is shining. Marcel opens his eyes and sees the Mona Lisa. Then he remembers where he is. He runs up the painting and looks at Antoine and Henri. “Good,” he thinks. “They’re asleep.” Ten seconds later, Marcel is standing at the window. He can see a small village and some mountains. Then a sign goes by: a hundred and eighty kilometers to Venice!

Two hours later Antoine and Henri are on a gondola. “Look,” says Antoine and laughs. He shows Henri a newspaper story. It says, "Thieves Take da Vinci Painting." Henri says, “Be quiet!” and turns to the boatman. “Do you see that big palace on the left?” 

“Do you want to go to Signor Spandini’s house?” the boatman asks. 

“Yes. Stop there,” the thief says.

Inside the bag Marcel hears every word.

An old woman answers the front door. “Come in,” she says to the two thieves. “Signor Spandini is waiting for you.” She takes them to a big, dark room. A fat man is sitting behind a desk. “Do you have it? Do you have the painting, the Mona Lisa?” he asks. 

“Yes, Boss,” Henri answers. The bag is beside him. “I can’t stay in here,” Marcel thinks. He jumps out of the bag and hides behind a chair.

“Good,” he thinks. “Now I can stop the thieves.” But then he goes cold. “Cats!” There are seven, eight, no nine of them in the room. Suddenly Marcel remembers Henri’s words “all those cats.” Then he remembers his dream on the train. What can he do? Where can he go?

But it is too late. One of the cats sees him.

“Help!” Marcel thinks and climbs up a red curtain.

A moment later the cat starts climbing, too. Marcel can hear it below him. He has to do something - and fast! But what? Then he sees two candles above his head. “That’s the answer,” he thinks.

He jumps onto the bookcase and starts to push the candles over. They are very heavy, but in the end he does it. Below him he hears, “Yeeooowwwww!”

“What’s all that noise?” asks Antoine. “Look! The carpet is on fire!” says Henri. Spandini stands up.

“Angelina! Quick, bring some water.” Marcel looks over the bookcase. He can see the Mona Lisa on Spandini’s desk. “OK,” he thinks. “This is it.” After that he runs down the curtain, across Spandini’s desk, picks up the Mona Lisa, and runs out of the room.

Marcel runs for a long time. He thinks, “I want to leave the Mona Lisa somewhere safe. But where?” Then, after twenty minutes, he stops in a quiet street. In front of him there is a police station. 

The front door has a letter box. “Of course!” Marcel thinks. “That’s it.” He stands up tall. Then he pushes the Mona Lisa through the letter-box.

Two days later Marcel is in Paris again. At the station he sees a newspaper. It says, ‘Italian Police Find the Mona Lisa’. Then he goes to the Louvre and tells Céline everything. “Nine cats!” she says. “Oh Marcel, are you all right?” “Yes, I’m fine,” Marcel answers. He goes to Céline’s window. “And the Mona Lisa’s fine, too. Look, Céline. She’s smiling."

Sara and Ana (Rooms in the House)

Sara is 7 years old. She lives in a little house far from Valencia. Her house is near the mountains. There is a forest near her house. Sara plays in the forest. 

She has one brother and one sister. Her brother is 11 and her sister is 16. Sara has two pets. She has a dog named Billy and a cat named The Kid. Sara has lots of toys. Sara has three dolls! Do you have three dolls? How many dolls do you have? Do you have a lot of toys?

Sara’s brother is called Tom. This is his bedroom. He has a desk, a chair, a bed, a carpet, a lamp, books, a computer, and some toys in his room. Is his room clean or dirty? Tom likes to play basketball. Do you like to play basketball?

Sara has lots of friends. Her best friend is Ana. Ana is 7 years old, too. Sara likes to go to the beach in the summer. Ana likes to go to the beach, too. Do you like to go to the beach? Do you like to go to the swimming pool?

Sara and Ana

Sara and Ana go to the same school. The school is very small.  Sara and Ana walk to school every day. The school is not far from the house where Sara lives. Sara can walk to school in ten minutes. Her favorite teacher at school is Lidia. Who is your favorite teacher?

Sara and her brother are in the kitchen. They are cooking dinner. Sara can cook. She likes to cook. Can you cook? Do you like to cook? What can you cook? Sara can cook many things. She can cook paella. She can cook popcorn. Sara can cook fried eggs. Things in the kitchen: a fridge, a stove, a table, chairs, plates, and glasses. 

This is Sara's bedroom. Is it clean or dirty? Sara cleans her bedroom every day. She makes her bed and puts her toys away. Sara likes pink. Her favorite color is pink.

Sara and Ana study English every Monday. Every Monday at 6:30 they sit in the dining room and study English with their teacher. Their teacher is American, his name is Jack. Jack is from the United States. Jack can speak Spanish but he can't speak Valenciano. Sara and Ana can speak Valenciano. Sara and her best friend speak Spanish, English, and Valenciano. Sara and Ana are very intelligent, they are very smart. 

Sara watches TV in the living room. What is in the living room? I see a TV, a sofa, a chair, a table, a mirror, a shelf with books, two windows, a carpet, and some lamps. What is in the living your at your house?

This is the bathroom. Sara brushes her teeth in the bathroom. She takes a shower or she can take a bath in the bathroom. There is a sink, a toilet, and a bath with a shower in the bathroom. Can you cook in the bathroom?